haythalk

saw this film the other day on Sky movies. Being a BR fan, thought I would give it a look. First off, it's a shame to see BR looking so rough these days.He has had so much bad plastic surgery these days that he looks pretty dreadful. Why he couldn't have just gotten older gracefully, i will never know. I'm quite certain his rotten looks have reduced his chances of getting decent roles. So this is what plastic Burt has to star in these days, some poorly made Color of Money rip-off.Personally, I don't like or understand Poker, so the card scenes held little interest. Burt's performance was reasonable - he is always capable of turning in a performance in any junk. To be honest, this is not worth the time. If you are interested in watching any Burt Reynolds movies, stick to the seventies, early 80's (and of course Boogie Nights).The obvious movies are deliverance,Smokey,CannonBall but Hustle,The End,Semi-tough,starting over,sharkey's machine,best friends are great examples of why Burt is a legend.

Having read some of the comments from other users and some of the reviews, this film has come in for some criticism. Whilst some of the comments are fair, I think it's important to take into context the life of this film. Another user has already pointed out that Reynolds was suffering with TMJ at the time of the release and had a few flops before hand, so his star was on the wane. However, this movie was supposed to have been released in 1984 and initial filming (judging by many scenes) indicate Reynolds was in good health. Somehow the studio didn't like the first cut of the film,not enough action,too slow,not good for box office. However, the film as a character piece may well have been quite interesting and judging by the first 15 minutes which were excellent,less studio meddling would have more beneficial in this case. Reynolds did not want to make an all out action film but the studios panicked and asked for re-shoots. By this time though, Reynolds had lost a lot of weight due to the TMJ problems and was clearly neither in the physical or mental state to shoot these extra scenes. As a result, we have a number of scenes where Reynolds is markedly thinner than in other scenes. This creates a very disjointed look and obviously doesn't help the film at all. It would be very interesting to see the original cut as Reynolds intended - i'm certain it would have ended up being a far better movie than the result we got. As it stands, I think Stick has some very good moments and some very sub-standard moments. The good are the first 15 minutes,especially the scene with Mokey,Rainy and Stick in the van - nice tense atmosphere in the van, well directed. Other good scenes are when Stick has to remove the ex-driver from the party ('now say goodnight' as he poured gasoline over his face and flicks out a lighter), the mo-key death scene (a superb stunt and not bettered for many years),the scenes with Candice Bergen and Burt (i thought they quite effective). The sub-standard are the poor editing, healthy Burt, v.ill Burt..it's very obvious.Some of the action scenes,especially where sticks stops and waits for mo-key to catch up? the training sequences - why show that, is this Rocky..bit of vanity for Mr Reynolds there i think. The ending was a bit weak..i don't think it was originally intended to be like that - i haven't read the book, so i could be wrong but again we had ill Burt in this scene. In conclusion, this movie could have been a lot better that it was but due to a number of circumstances it turned out to be an fairly average Burt Reynolds thriller. Could have been another Sharkeys but not meant to be. A shame really, now where is that original cut?

After watching 'The Last King of Scotland' last year, I became quite interested in finding out more about the madman that was Amin. I soon discovered that they had made a film in the early 80's and managed to watch a trailer on youtube. I immediately thought this would be a great movie to watch - not necessarily because it was well-acted or directed - but because it had that cheesy,crappy quality..so crap it's good sort of thing!

So finally - and thanks to the wonders of youtube, i managed to watch the movie. It certainly lived up to my expectations. The movie does accurately portray the timeline of his regime and certainly gives you a sense of the terrible conditions people had to endure under his rule. When Amin appears on screen, he just seems to do one terrible thing after another - the movie does seem to be strung together by scene after scene of Amin shouting maniacally about cutting heads off/kicking out asians/shooting the archbishop/liking Hitler/eating human flesh etc etc...all makes for entertaining viewing I have to say..but then you have to bare in mind that this tyrant was real..so we must never forget that. Some notable quotes "No-one mess with Big Daddy!" "This is what happen to bad mommies" "i Like Hitler,i put statue of him in kampala" "i am sex champion" "for an African,you have gone very white!" "you call uganda money sh*t money!"

In summary, definitely an exploitation film BUT does portray the man as the evil villain he was.

Having watched this movie more times than I care to remember, thought it was time to write down my thoughts. Malone was released in May 1987, just a few short months after Reynolds had released his 'comeback' movie Heat. Heat bombed and so did Malone..and everyother Burt movie after that. The simple truth was that his time had passed and people were now looking to new action heroes. However, do not let that fool you into thinking you should miss Malone..on the contrary, it is vital viewing for any Reynolds or action fan! Plot is simple. Malone is a disillusioned CIA operative, he wants out and he tells his partner that in the opening scene.Malone heads off in his classic car.However,the car breaks down near a small town.Malone befriends the garage owner and his young daughter.However,his stay in the town is far from dull.He finds out that most of the shops/hotels are closed down due to properties being bought by the mysterious Delaney. Delaney is a right wing zealot and this town is part of his sector. Malone confronts one of Delaneys thugs and beat the c**p out of him.He then shoots another of the thugs.Delaney meets Malone with an eye to recruiting him but Malone is having none of it.Despite, in the words of Delaney of being a "Samurai without a master, powerful but without direction".A local farmer is also killed infront of the garage,embroiling Malone further into the towns problems.To add to this,Malone's ex-lover and CIA partner comes to town to kill him but instead falls for him again. This is a good job as she takes care of him after an assassination attempt by the zealots.However,she is then targeted and killed.This means only one thing..Malone is now out for revenge. Cue the classic 80's style ending.Lots of bad guys chasing after hero in deserted building and getting killed off one and one to leave hero with main villain. The explosion at the end is pretty cool. So here what is so damn cool about MALONE. When asked by the family he meets at the local garage what his name is, the reply is: "Malone"...the young girl asks: "Got a first name", reply:"Yeah" HOW COOL IS THAT! It gets better... When the young girl is driving Malone into town, he says he is travelling around. She says that must be interesting..his reply is: "Isn't every place just like the other." HOW WISE IS THAT! A classic.. Young girl takes coffee up to Malone in the morning.He is lying on his bed.After putting the coffee down, she asks him:"Are you getting up or going to bed" His reply:"I haven't decided yet" Only someone as COOL as Malone hasn't decided whether he wants to sleep or not!! The list goes on and on. A review of Reynolds other movie 'Heat' suggested you shout the movie title every time some action happened. I suggest the same here..There is a scene when right-wing assassins come to kill Malone, they naturally fail but in trying to warn him, the young girl screams..all together now..M A L O N E!

I'm a Burt Reynolds fan - there i have admitted it! Anyway, to see a film of his get a theatrical release made this a must see film for me...and i wasn't disappointed. No need to go over the plot but all the performances in the film are excellent and Burt is the best he has been for years..in fact since Boogie Nights in my opinion. Like the other comments, there were no really laugh out loud moments but just a nice stream of funny,well acted and moving moments. The scene at the start were Jefferson Steele was watching an old home movie of his daughter was moving,well acted by Burt.

He obviously was quite happy to send himself as the has-been star (so appropriate) but still with a lot to prove. Despite all the bad plastic surgery he has had, he didn't look too bad in this film..and that in itself made me pleased.

So overall, this is charming,warm hearted film with some great performances. As for Burt, his best film in years, without any doubt. He is obviously still a great actor, with tremendous screen prescence and is rightly hailed as Hollywood legend. I just hope we see more of Burt in films of this quality.

This is a superb piece of film-making. Acting,directing,script..all top drawer. When viewing it, you do get this very uneasy feeling and you can feel the tension build and build. This film demonstrates very well that its all about building atmosphere in horror movies...no guts and gore particularly but through menacing music and lighting, a chilling scene is set. I'm sure other viewers who have enjoyed viewing it, want to watch it again but have this fear factor towards...i know i do! I recently bought the 25th Anniversary DVD..have watched the extras but haven't sat down for the movie yet..(have seen it 3 times now and still scares the hell out of me!) I did have the 'Version you have never seen' on VHS and i remember when i first saw the spider walk...sends chills down my spine thinking of it.

Some people seem to find this film comical - which surprises me. I tend to think those people haven't watched the movie in the right frame of mind or with the right audience....but then again, if they do not believe in god, then i guess this is not relevant for them.

Its been 34 years now and i don't think the Exorcist has been bettered..or ever will be. Watch it...but be warned...

I thought this movie might continue the temporary resurgence of Burt after Boogie Nights but once again showed his achiles heel...he just makes bad choices! The script needed a lot of work, the number of characters needed to be cut down, that stupid soundtrack needed to have been trimmed drastically and there was no real directing in the movie...is it comedy..is it a drama..is it a thriller?! Burts performance is quite good - he always manages to be OK even in garbage - but his bad plastic surgery does not help here. Overall, this is a mess of a movie. I tend to enjoy Burt Reynolds movies but his recent decisions have not been good. His plastic surgery has ensured he won't get cast for any serious roles and he has now just ended up in cameo roles. It's a shame really, as he is a far better actor than people give him credit for and someone with genuine screen prescence.

When Rocky Balboa was announced, my immediate reaction was: "Yes!Fantastic!"...I then started to have other thoughts...16 years is an awful long time after Rocky V, that movie flopped, fans didn't like it, how will this will turn out..etc etc...basically i was getting worried. My fears were beginning to go away when i saw the trailers in the summer..i could just sense Sly had done the character proud. And so finally, on Jan 19, i was finally able to complete the saga.

The movie is everything a Rocky fan could have wished for. It's an emotional, funny, motivating and above all, a very personal movie. The first half of the film is very reminiscent of the first 2 movies. A gently paced human drama with great character observations. The scenes where Rocky goes to the ice rink, the flat, the pet shop maybe be sentimental but are very powerful and emotional. The characters around Rocky's life are also varied and well acted. These range from his son,Paulie,Marie and even Spider Rico. We get some really funny scenes from Paulie and even Spider comes up with a few funny moments.

When Rocky decides to fight again, there are some very well acted scenes from Sly. The pain of losing Adrian, the need to get the hurt out, the feelings of his family/friends all come out.

And just like the other Rockys...once the fight is on..the drama subsides and its time for the montage! Duke may not feature as much as I would like BUT he delivers what surely must be one of the best lines in the whole saga - Lets start building some hurtin bombs...Yeah!

The fight is shot in HBO style and is directed superbly...lots of colour changes..lots of great slow-mo...real thrilling stuff.

The ending was very fitting and in my mind concluded the series perfectly.

Of course, there are always a few gripes...but i loved the movie so much, i can't be bothered to discuss them!

Sly wanted to give the character a noble end and to give the fans the Rocky film they didn't really get in part V.

Yo Sly, you did it!

This movie was released in the US in October 2000. Its performance at the box office was a catastrophe and the reviews ripped the film apart. As yet, there has been no release date planned for the UK. Being a resident in England and Sly fan AND hearing this kind of news was not encouraging.So when i see a copy of Get Carter out on video release in a video store in the Emirates on my hols, i immediately grab the tape not thinking of all the doom and gloom attached to it.

I sat down with great foreboding at the start of the movie. How shocked I was. The film has an excellent opening with a superbly cool soundtrack and excellent visuals.Suddenly all was ok in Sly world!

Sly plays Jack Carter- a mafia thug/tough guy- who returns to his hometown upon the death of his brother.There he reunites with his brothers wife and daughter. Carter is convinced his brother did not die in the accident the police report claimed but that he was murdered, but by whom. Carter sets about to find out in his own way, but with every new piece of information he finds, he delves deeper into the seedy world he left behind.

I enjoyed the movie as a whole, some weak elements i.e. carters reason to go back to his home town is weak and even the script hits on that, but there needed to be more explanation. The ending, whilst quite good, could have had more impact. Where the film scored was in the music, the visuals and a good performance from Sly and the actress who played his neice.

Again,as with D-tox and Driven and a whole load of movies, Sly was ripped apart by the critics. But rent it and make your own decisions!!

I rate it 6/10

Ignore what you may have heard about D-Tox over the past few months. As alot of the reviews in IMDB point out, D-tox is not as bad as everyone is made out to believe.

The plot to D-tox is as follows:Sly plays FBI agent Jake Malloy who is on the chase for a serial cop killer.Simply put, Malloys life ends up in virtual ruin in chasing this guy. He ends up with a drink problem and close to the end of his life until his FBI friend intervenes and sends him to a Detox centre out in the wilderness. What follows on arrival at the centre is a series of mysterious suicides.You can guess what happens from then.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the film borrows from movies like 'The Thing' and 'Seven'- which is no bad thing as both are excellent movies. I'm not about to rank this with those films, but to hear some of the critical reviews of this movie, you would think it was the worst film in the world!

Basically, if you are a sly fan you will enjoy it, and even if you are not, its a good movie to keep you entertained for 90 mins or so.

This movie is the best of the trio of recent sly releases, so if you despaired with Driven or forgot carter,then check this out,it really is OK.

I rate it 6.5/10.